Close Quarters
by hoshi-ni-onegai
Summary: Kenshin hates early mornings, but even he makes an exception if he gets to see a certain dark haired woman on his elevator rides. AU. KxK. One-Shot.


Author Notes: It's a little sad that I don't participate as much as I should in fanfiction anymore. I really do love all types of writing, but I just can't seem to find that much time. Also, it probably doesn't help that I'm now attempting original fiction. I believe fanfiction is a great exercise tool, but in the end I feel like I'm always a little lazy in character development because everyone already has this fixed perception of these well-loved characters. Anyways, this is something quick that I came up with (and I barely had time to look over it, so it may need a better edit). Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: The _Rurouni Kenshin_ world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Close Quarters**

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

I couldn't help the groan that escaped my lips as I parked my BMW into my building allotted spot in the underground parking garage. I was the first car here aside from the vans driven by the maintenance people. Leaning forward and pressing my forehead against the steering wheel, I chanced a glance at the digital clock embedded in my dashboard. 5:50 AM.

I let out another groan. I wasn't helping my situation by sulking about the early morning, but that was just it: I wasn't a morning person and definitely not on a Monday. You would think I wasn't the CEO of the company by my reluctance. That was one of the perks of being the founder and head of your own company; you set your own hours. That is, unless you have an important conference call with the most powerful man in charge of sea port access to Taiwan.

It really wasn't anyone's fault that Taiwan was exactly twelve hours off of the New York time zone. According to the meeting time negotiated by our respective receptionists, it was decided that Mr. Harbor-Port-Hot-Shot would stick around in his office for an additional half hour than usual, while I was to stumble in at this ungodly hour.

My diligent but shy receptionist, Tsubame, volunteered to come in at the same time to take meeting notes, but I told her to come in per usual. There was no need for her to go through this early morning torture along with me -especially since she had given me a thoughtful boss' day gift of homemade lunch and pie. My stomach grumbled at the memory. I wasn't in the mood for breakfast when I was still in my apartment, and was now regretting it.

Grabbing my brief case and suit jacket I trudged over to the elevators after quickly remote locking my car. If it was any other morning and there were witnesses around I would maintain my posture and look every bit the young successful businessman. But I was alone and I was wallowing in self pity.

If I had known that this was how it was going to turn out, I would have insisted on staying a few extra hours and take a late call than come in this early. I wanted to tell them that there was nothing waiting for me but a lonely empty apartment, but it didn't seem entirely professional to offer up that much about my personal life -or lack thereof. Sighing, I pushed the call button for the elevator and wondered if I should get a dog.

The elevator was quick, faster than what I was used to with the large building. The office building was tall and looming in the center of Manhattan. With real estate at a premium in the city, there were multiple companies crammed into High Tower Plaza.

Stepping into the elevator I frowned at my reflection in the high polished steel of the interior. My unruly red hair fell the way it usually did and my eyes were deceptively awake. I looked better than I felt. I wished it was the other way around. I would take the tired bags under my eyes and being more alert, but then I would be admonished by my vicious PR representative, Megumi, that appearances were vital for the head and face of the company. I hit the button for the top floor of the building to get to my office and I considered possibly hiring a new face for the company.

I stepped to the back out of habit as the elevator noiselessly began its climb; I was surprised to hear the melodic ping as it reached the lobby. I furrowed my brows. Who else was being tortured to call the elevator this early?

I had a moment to wonder if maybe maintenance was using these elevators before the rush started instead of the unpredictable service elevator near the back. The doors slid open and I was surprised to see a woman busily typing something on her BlackBerry as she stepped into the elevator without looking.

When she finally spared a glance up to turn toward the floor buttons I was met with a startled set of bright blue eyes. The woman that stared back at me was young, twenty-three at the most. Her long jet black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, which possibly made her look more youthful and lively. Her charcoal skirt suit was clean, pressed, and fit her well, but betrayed that it was something off the rack. She wore a cream colored gossamer blouse underneath and her shoes were black high heels. Yes, she was definitely young. She must have been fresh out of college. There was a certain look to these rookie workers in the business world -especially in New York City. What gave her away the most was the more casual messenger bag she seemed to be using as her briefcase.

She looked taken aback as if she had seen a ghost. After calming her breath she gave a shy smile and a nod. Turning around she hit the button for the twenty-second floor. My mind reeled as to what company worked off that floor, it wasn't one of mine.

The mystery girl returned back to her BlackBerry and continued typing. By the speed she was clicking at the keys, I could tell she spent the majority of the day attached to the small device. No doubt she was someone's personal assistant.

I allowed myself to observe the girl as I was given the luxury of standing behind her. She had bangs that fell softly around her face as her head remained at a tilt downward looking at the phone and typing. I could see a peek of her profile and noticed long dark lashes and a slim turned up nose. Her lips moved slightly as if she was mouthing some of the words she was spelling out. The delicate line of her jaw met with a long slender neck. She seemed to only be wearing a pair of modest silver stud earrings as jewelry.

I mentally checked myself of noticing a lack of a ring on her left hand. I shrugged at my admonishing super-ego; I couldn't help it, the girl was attractive. I never considered myself to have a "type" when it came to women I was attracted to, but she fit my id's bill perfectly. Now if only my ego could muster up the simple courage to say good morning.

The elevator made its quick climb to her floor and I continue to watch her. Although I realized I was ogling her a bit too long I couldn't help myself. I felt my brows furrow when her typing paused and saw her ears redden slightly along with her cheeks as she blushed from an unknown reason. Was it a raunchy message from a boyfriend or something?

I contemplated it for a brief second before glancing forward and realized that her blue eyes were peeking up at me through the reflection on the door. Crap. She had caught me staring, probably even saw me given her the onceover -a few times over. I gave her a guilty smile; I looked like a kid that was caught doing something I wasn't supposed to.

If being caught eyeballing her wasn't embarrassing enough, my empty stomach decided to make itself known in that very moment in the confined space. I felt my face flush, but I was distracted by the quiet feminine giggle that escaped her lips before she smacked her hand to them to stop herself.

The elevator pinged as it reached her floor and she spared me glance back and gave a shy smile. She stepped out of the doors, turned down the hall to the left, and I could hear her full-blown giggle as she left out of view. I caught the name of the company that occupied the floor emblazoned on the wall in gleaming silver letters before the doors slid shut: Snow Mutual Fund.

For the rest of the day after my long meeting with the Taiwanese businessman, which went over so long that we scheduled another meeting in two days time after each side regrouped and collected the necessary information, I kept thinking back on the mystery girl in the elevator. Mystery woman. Yes, calling her a woman seemed less creepy than calling her girl; particularly now that she refused to leave my mind. I picked through my mind trying to remember if I had ever run into her in the building before. I came up blank. I spent each elevator ride trying to spot her, but with every crowded ride I never caught a glimpse of her raven hair.

I was grumpier than before two mornings later. It was the second half of the meeting with Taiwan, and I wasn't particularly keen on negotiating with the shrewd businessman for hours on end again. It also didn't help that my mystery woman vanished. I had attempted casualty and visited an old college dorm mate that I knew worked for Snow Mutual Fund. To say that Soujiro was surprised to see me visiting was an understatement. We had maintained an amiable relationship with the occasional polite conversation when we ran into each other in the building, but neither had ever visited the other. We weren't what most people would call close friends. I had gazed around the open concept office in hopes of catching a sight of the mystery woman but found neither head nor tail of her. It wasn't the lunch hour so she would have most likely been in the office, but she was nowhere to be seen. I was getting the growing suspicion that I had dreamed her up in my groggy morning state.

I hit the button for the top floor and slumped against the back wall of the elevator car. Why did it seem earlier than the other day? I grumbled until I heard the ping for the lobby. I expectantly looked toward the door. I hadn't allowed myself to hope that I would run into her again this early in the morning. As the door slid open I was graced with my mystery woman's presence. She looked at me surprised but smiled broadly. If I wasn't leaning on the back wall I would have to have stepped back from the brightness of her smile.

She stepped into the elevator sporting a navy sheath dress and had the same high heels, earrings, and messenger bag. Glued to her left hand was her BlackBerry, but in her right was blue a wrapper of some sort. She hit the twenty-second floor again. I felt my brows furrow as I contemplated if she really worked there. Maybe she had called in sick yesterday when I popped in on Soujiro.

She was happily chewing on something in her mouth when her BlackBerry buzzed. She let out a small sigh of exasperation and glanced down at the screen. Tapping through the menu and reading a block of text she rolled her eyes at her phone. Balancing the wrapper in her hand she began typing.

I continued to watch her until I could feel the telltale signs that my stomach was going to grumble. Covering my face in embarrassment as the noise echoed through the car I mentally kicked myself for not having forced down toast this morning. This was mortifying.

After a long moment, I peeked a glance between my fingers at her to see her reaction. She had turned around and was grinning. She then reached out her right hand toward me and wordlessly gestured toward the wrapper. I glanced down. It was a snack pack of Oreos. Definitely fresh out of college.

I guess I was staring at her hand for far too long because she gestured again. I gave an embarrassed smile then reached carefully in and grabbed a cookie. I returned a wordless thanks and she nodded with her grin still in place. She looked about to say something, but the blasted elevator ping indicated her floor. Distracted from the noise she turned toward the door and stepped out without a word. Instead of walking off like the other day, she waited as the door closed and sent me a small wave with the Oreo wrapper still in hand.

As the elevator ascended the rest of the length of the building I glanced down at my cookie. I contemplated saving it, but bit into it instead. As the familiar childhood flavors overtook me, I realized I was smitten. Who knew that the perpetual bachelor would be taken down by an unassuming young woman and her Oreos?

For every morning after that I came in at 5:50 AM. I swallowed down my embarrassment and skipped breakfast. My stomach was like a finely tuned clock, it would only growl in protest once she was in the elevator car. She was extremely punctual and ever present with an offering. It varied from day to day. Sometimes she offered half a granola bar and other times half a bagel, but the Oreo pack always made a return appearance.

This went on for two weeks, with neither of us saying a word. She openly smiled at him each morning in greeting. She conspiratorially rolled her eyes when her BlackBerry incessantly vibrated alerting her to a message. And she always waited for the elevator door to begin closing on her floor to wave goodbye.

I felt a bit like a schoolboy waiting to catch a small moment with his crush. There was some doubt as to if I really was thirty-three and the head of a fortune 500 company from the way I looked forward to seeing her. I was finding myself to be a morning person as I gladly woke up to make what I called my "5:50 AM train to work." I previously used to come into the office around eight o'clock, but now I enjoyed my leisurely mornings. My sleep schedule even adjusted to wake bright and early to make it on time.

I feared that if I adjusted my time even slightly I would miss her that day. The probability of running into her was relatively low. This was a large building. There were six elevators that took you from the lobby to all the above ground floors, but only one that went to the basement garages. I had a sixteen-point-six-seven percent chance to see her -yes, I had done the math. But without fail for two weeks I caught her on my morning elevator ride and received her small breakfast offering.

All I needed to do now was get up the nerve and talk to her -maybe even ask the poor unsuspecting girl out on a date.

However, one morning my elevator didn't stop at the lobby. It shot straight to the top floor. Was she sick? Maybe she was running late today?

I remained immobile for a long minute after the doors opened on my floor. As I had let out a sigh in defeat for the day and stepped toward the door it slid shut. The elevator was being called down. I could feel the hope bubble in me as we descended all sixty stories to the lobby.

The melodic ping and the opening doors were like my opening credits to her presence. I was elated to see her there. She looked frazzled and appeared to have been deprived of sleep. I saw the momentary panic and worry on her face, but she visibly relaxed and gave a relieved sigh when our eyes met. She stumbled into the car, lacking her usual grace.

She was also noticeably not wearing her ever-present black heels, but instead wore sensible flats. She was also wearing a slightly baggy pantsuit, something that looked to be a hand-me-down or on loan from a taller woman. Her usually polished outfit was missing. Although her clothes lacked designer labels or cuts, she was always impeccably and professionally dressed and always in skirts. This was the first time he had seen her wearing any sort of pants. Her pant legs looked hastily rolled up and her blazer sleeves cuffed sloppily. She never wore outrageously low neck tops, but her grey cable knit turtleneck sweater seemed out of place on her and for the warm autumn day. Her long inky black hair was disheveled and lacked its usual sheen and luster.

She hesitated before hitting her floor number. I stepped forward to ask her what was wrong; concern winning over any rehearsed greetings I had prepared for my first words to her. But I was cut off when her phone buzzed and she visibly froze. She took in a shuddering breath and looked down at her BlackBerry. She didn't give me the usual eye roll that she always used to regard her early morning messenger. I watched on worried as she nervously typed in a response, hitting the backspace and repeatedly correcting herself -which was out of place from her usual efficient typing.

I had to ask. What was wrong? What was making her so visibly effected?

But my stomach was a clock and let out a growl. She whipped her head at me then glanced down at her right hand as if realizing for the first time that she was without her ever present breakfast snack. She fumbled for her bag and dug through it, looking for something in desperation. She seemed to be on a verge of panic. I needed to stop this.

I did what I hadn't done since I met her. I touched her. I stilled her nervous hand in its frantic search. I could feel the softness of her skin and the slight hum and elation I got from finally touching her. I just wished the circumstances were different. In all the times that she offered me a part of her breakfast, our fingers had never accidently brushed up against each other. I half expected her to be an illusion of my imagination. This now grounded her into reality and there was something that was deeply disturbing her today.

She looked up at me and her piercing blue eyes stared into me. She seemed to search for something then visibly relaxed and gave a small tragic smile. I was overcome with the urge to pull her into my arms in comfort. But the sparking connection was disturbed by the ping of the elevator and doors slid open to her floor.

Her eyes looked terrified of the Snow Mutual Fund sign, but something passed across her face. She seemed to steel her resolve and gulped down visibly. Her slightly trembling hand squeezed mine, and I could only give a reassuring squeeze back.

I felt the sudden loss when she let go of my hand and stepped through the doors. Her usual wave was missing when the doors slid closed. Instead, I was met with the frightened but determined gaze of my mystery woman.

I was distracted for the rest of the day. I could barely get a handle on work as the events of the morning spun through my head. What had happened to her? I contemplated going down to her floor and making sure she was alright, but feared I might make it worse. She seemed independent and firm in her final stance. I didn't want to rush in like an unwanted and unnecessary knight in dull armor.

My mind was distracted with images of terrified blue eyes. I ended up leaving the office hours later than usual. I just couldn't seem to concentrate completely on my tasks at hand. I glanced at my watch. It was half passed nine, a time I very rarely worked till. If I needed to put in more hours I usually took my work home with me, but something kept me in my office.

I called and then stepped into the only elevator that took me back down the basement level. I leaned my head back against the gleaming back wall and let out a frustrated sigh. I hoped that tomorrow my mystery woman was back to her usual self, I don't know if I would be able to help myself from enveloping her in my arms if she looked as lost as she did this morning.

My long decent down into the pit of the tower was interrupted. I frowned and looked up at the floor marker. My eyes widened as I saw the floor, twenty-second. If she walked through those doors I would consider it an act of the fates and not just mere coincidence any more. I would take action.

The doors slid open and my stomach plummeted to the floor. Seeing the two people in the frame of the elevator doorway I knew exactly what had caused my mystery woman's reactions this morning.

I cursed myself for not sweeping down to Snow Mutual earlier in the day. I could have easily stopped the elevator in the morning on a higher floor and taken the stairs down. I could have done anything but nothing. There she stood looking more scared than this morning with a towering imposing man smirking at her as he leaned down to her earshot.

"Don't even think you can get away like yesterday." His words were barely disguised as a whisper. He glanced into the elevator and had the galls to look smug as he stepped in. He nodded at me, "Himura."

I gritted my teeth, but let out my curt greeting: "Jinne."

Udo Jinne, the bastard who went to my business school. He had caused a massive scandal by sexually harassing multiple female classmates, but everything was swept under rug thanks to his family's large school donations. According to the rumors, he was still up to his sleazy antics. And now he had encroached in on someone in my life I wasn't willing to let go through this.

She caught sight of me and I could sense her desperation. She quietly skirted into the elevator and stood next to Jinne, keeping the most amount of distance possible away from him by pressing up against the side wall. He punched the lobby button and smirked down at her. I could see her visibly tremble and her knuckles turn white as she gripped the strap of her messenger bag.

From my usual spot in the back right of the elevator car, I was standing directly behind her. I could easily reach forward and touch her.

Something had happened. Jinne had crossed another line with an innocent female that wasn't seeking his attention. He was a usual run-in of my previous eight o'clock arrival time, meaning that he forced his personal assistant to come in two hours earlier into the building and do god knows what before he finally waltzed in. If today was any indication, she was working sixteen hour days.

The majority of the building cleared out between five and six in the afternoon. I hated to think how he had frightened her between then and now. Judging by her body language and the look on her face, Jinne had done or said something. I hoped that his previous phrase of her "escaping" the day before meant that the worst had yet to take place.

The car made a quick decent down to the lobby. Seeing her flinch at the sound of the ping that never sounded more ominous, I made my decision.

Jinne sauntered out of the car and glanced back slightly to give me a nod. I narrowed my eyes in warning. He gestured for the woman to follow. After a long moment of hesitation she began to step forward, and then I reached forward. The fingers on my left had curled gently and firmly on her right upper arm. I gave a light tug back, but in her trembling state I might as well have grabbed her as she fell against my chest. I tilted forward and wrapped my right arm protectively around her waist. My eyes never left Jinne's as I smirked at him.

"Have a nice weekend Jinne. I have a dinner date with your lovely assistant." I knew I must look like the cat that caught the canary, but I knew I needed to keep this act up. I knew very well the innuendo laced within my following words. "I owe her for breakfast. Hope you don't mind."

I could see him visibly fumble then seethe. "The hell you-"

"I'm not asking for permission." I purposefully stroked the side of her hip so he could see. Her trembling had calmed but I could tell her nerves were still on edge. I wasn't one to violate personal space, but there were few ways to get the point across to this asshole. "Then again, I probably don't have to remind you of Enishi's company policy right?"

He froze at my words and understood the threat behind them.

I let her waist go and reached for the door close button. I continued to smirk, "Don't dip you pen in the company ink."

The doors slid shut and I could feel the tension leave the car immediately now that we were alone. I let go of her promptly and stepped aside. I made sure not to touch her. She had to have been frazzled by the events of the day and whatever had happened to her yesterday in his clutches. I leaned to the side a bit and cocked my head. I purposefully put myself in the position to look up at her. It didn't feel like a good moment to tower over her -not that I could, as it seemed we were nearly the same height.

"Are you okay?" My voice was as calming as I could make it.

Her wide blue eyes relaxed a bit and she took in shuddering breath. She nodded her head.

"Sorry." I gave a reassuring smile. "I couldn't just stand back and watch. I know what kind of bastard Jinne is."

Her bottom lip trembled, and she bit it with her teeth to stop it. She gulped down and closed her eyes. When she fluttered her lids back open they finally focused on my face as if noticing who I was for the first time. A small grateful smile touched her lips and whispered out the first words I had ever heard her speak. "Thank you."

Her voice was sweet and kind, but with a confidence and energy behind it that I pegged her to have from the moment I ran into her in the elevator car two weeks ago. As the elevator reached the basement garage floor, I motioned for her to follow me out -she did so without hesitation.

"I'm sorry I didn't do anything earlier." From the confusion on her face, I elaborated. "I knew there was something wrong when I saw you this morning, I should have done something. I'm sorry. I had no idea that you worked for Jinne."

She shook her head rapidly and reached for my hands, as if it would anchor her. "What you just did is more than what I could ask a stranger to do for me." She let out a sigh then added, "I guess I'll have to look for a new job."

I furrowed my brows. "Why is that?"

She looked at me like I asked an insane question. "I can't possibly go back to that office with Mr. Udo. I have better survival instincts than that."

I shook my head. "No, he's the one that crossed the line, not you. He needs to find a new job, not you."

Surprise crossed her face at my words. "How would I-"

I heard the terrified doubt in her words so I interrupted her. "Enishi Yukishiro is an old friend. He may be a strict and cold, but he's also filled with righteous conviction when it comes to how women should be treated. He won't stand for this."

She sighed, "It's my word against Jinne's. I'm new, why would they believe me?"

"Jinne has a certain... reputation." Then I added, "And I'll vouch for you."

She let out a sigh, the weight on her shoulders were slowly slipping off. "You barely know me."

"Sure I do. You're my mystery woman with the Oreo." I grinned at her sudden blush.

I pointed to my lone car in the garage. "Let me give you a ride home." After a beat I shook my head in stupidity. "Oh, right. Sorry. Strange man offering you a ride. Let me call you a cab."

"No, I trust you." Her face and body seemed to relax from stress it had been harboring for the better part of two days. "You're my hunky but hungry penthouse dweller."

My eyebrows shot up at her shy admission. After a brief moment I grinned broadly. "Hunky?"

She laughed and I loved the sound of it breaking through the image of her today. "But hungry."

"I have a confession to make." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly as I stood next to my car. "I may or may not have skipped breakfast everyday so you could feed me."

She let out a laugh again, and I mentally vowed to make her happy for the rest of my life. "And I may or may not have waited around the only elevator that went to the garage every day since I met you."

"You did?" My voice sounded pathetically hopeful, like a teenager getting a maybe from a dream prom date.

"I felt a bit like a stalker when I waited until the elevator was called to the bottom floor before hitting the call button." It was her turn to look sheepish. "I was afraid I was going to miss you otherwise."

"Really?"

She shrugged but continued to blush. "Or I would be stuck eating my whole breakfast."

I chuckled. "Then maybe it was good that I changed my schedule to come in earlier to see you every day."

"Oh really?" Her eyes sparkled with mischief, as if the previous fright I saw there was completely gone. "If I remember correctly, you said you owed me dinner."

Nodding and grinning like an idiot I led her to the passenger side of my car. I opened the door for her and she slipped gracefully in. I looked down at her for a long moment with the car door still opened. When she caught me staring she blushed.

"I look like a mess today." She went to smooth an unruly lock of hair down.

"You look beautiful." I usually wasn't Casa Nova and I did not have a way with words when it came to women, but that particular phrase slipped out before I had control of my mouth. I figured there was nothing left to lose and pushed forward. "My name is Kenshin, by the way."

She grinned. "I'm Kaoru. It's nice to meet you."

"Same here." And Kaoru had no idea how nice it was to finally meet her.


End file.
